Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D preview - New screens and details

Donkey Kong Country Returns on the Nintendo Wii was an excruciatingly difficult platformer featuring Nintendo's famous red-tied Kong and his partner Diddy. Now the game is coming to the Nintendo 3DS with all new features to transition the side-scroller to a more pleasant handheld experience.

The first thing the developers added to the portable 3D version of the game was the less challenging New Mode. The added difficulty setting increases the number of hearts from two to three, giving you a total of six hearts if you have Diddy with Donkey. Players also have more options when they go to Cranky Kong's item shop. Three new items have been added to give players a little bit of breathing room. Likely the most useful is a green balloon which can carry players back up after falling into a bottomless pits. Plus, Donkey Kong can now equip DK barrels that can be used to summon Diddy at any time, and the Crash Guard potion allows you to take three total (formerly fatal) hits during mine kart challenges.

The 3DS version has also added eight new levels to the end of the game. Unlocking the secret Golden Temple level from the original game now opens up a world above the clouds. Each stage represents the different environments around the original game's island with appropriately challenging platforming. Donkey Kong Country Returns will also feature co-op over Wi-Fi but will keep the characters within the confines of the shared screen (the same as the original couch co-op). Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D will hit stores on May 24 on Nintendo 3DS.

Want to see the 3DS version in action? Check out the Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D gameplay in the video below.